Ohioans to see less unemployment aid

The state’s declining unemployment rate soon will trigger a decrease in the amount of federal unemployment compensation available to Ohioans.

The number of weeks of unemployment compensation available depends on the state’s unemployment rate, which averaged less than 7 percent in September, October and November. That means the maximum amount of compensation available, including state unemployment compensation, will drop from 63 weeks to 54 weeks Jan. 12.

The reduction in weeks is largely unrelated to the measure Congress recently passed to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” which extended unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless for a year.

Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services estimates that roughly 66,000 Ohioans would have lost their benefits without the bill’s passage.

Car sales increase

DETROIT

A steadily improving economy and strong December sales lifted the American auto industry to its best performance in five years in 2012, especially for Volkswagen and Japanese-brand vehicles, and experts say the next year should be even better.

Carmakers announced Thursday their final figures, which totaled 14.5 million — 13 percent better than 2011.

Google relatively unscathed in probe

SAN FRANCISCO

Google has settled a U.S. government probe into its business practices without making any major concessions on how the company runs its Internet search engine, the world’s most influential gateway to digital information and commerce.

Thursday’s agreement with the Federal Trade Commission covers only some of the issues raised in a wide-ranging antitrust investigation that could have culminated in a regulatory crackdown that re-shapes Internet search, advertising and mobile computing.

But that crackdown didn’t happen, to the relief of Google and technology trade groups worried about overzealous regulation discouraging future innovation.

Hormel Foods buying Skippy

NEW YORK

Hormel Foods apparently has a hankering for a peanut butter and bacon sandwich. The company primarily known for Spam and other cured, smoked and deli meats said Thursday that it’s buying Skippy, the country’s No. 2 peanut butter brand, in its biggest-ever acquisition.

Skippy, which was introduced in 1932 and is a staple in American pantries, is intended to increase Hormel’s presence in the center of the supermarket where nonperishable foods are sold.

It also gives the Austin, Minn.-based company a stronger footing in international markets. Skippy is sold in about 30 countries and is the leading peanut butter brand in China, where Hormel has been trying to build up its Spam business for the past several years.